It's Okay To Be Angry
by The13thQueen
Summary: When an amnesiac girl shows up in the Avengers lives, she turns them upside-down. But is she really who they think she is, or even who she thinks herself to be? My first story! Hope you like it! Just being careful with the rating. There might be some graphic scenes.
1. Chapter 1

**I own nothing that you recognize! I hope you enjoy! R&R please! (Constructive criticism is appreciated!) This is my first story, I hope you like it!**

Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, and agents Clint Barton and Natasha Romanov all sat around a small, circle table in a cramped cafe in their street clothes. Director Nick Fury had assigned them a special recruitment assignment. Thor and Dr. Bruce Banner had stayed on the helicarrier incase this assignment got rowdy once the other Avengers got back.

Fury had hardly told them anything about the girl they were trying to recruit. He had given them a picture, an age, and a name. Her name was Jo Bradley, and she was only 18. The only other thing Fury had told them was to be careful; she was extremely dangerous.

Tony had hacked the entire mainframe of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s online files, but had found nothing other than what he was told. That wasn't enough for him. He searched and searched but couldn't even find a medical record. Tony Stark was extremely curious.

"I think that's her," Natasha said under her breath. She slightly tilted her head toward a young girl in the back corner of the cafe. She had short, curly, dark hair that naturally curled around her neck and jaw line. She was pale with a small amount of freckles on her nose and cheeks under dark brown eyes. She was around 5'7 and thin with slightly toned muscles. The girl quickly tapped away on her laptop.

"I think it would have been nice to actually know what this girl can do..." Clint grunted.

Ever the loyal soldier, Steve said, "Let's just follow orders and get out of here."

"Are you getting antsy, Captain? You're not usually the 'quick to get on with it' type," Tony quipped easily.

"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be in your lab with Bruce?" Steve snapped.

"Boys! Who cares? Let's just hurry up." Natasha swiftly changed into Black Widow mode, plotting the easiest way to corner the girl. As if sensing the change, the girl put her laptop in her backpack and got up to leave. She glanced toward the group and caught eyes with Clint.

"She knows who we are," He said as she rushed out the door. The four clambered up and rushed after her. Once they had gotten out of the crowd, they saw her run around a corner into an alleyway.

"We've got a lock on her," Captain America said into a barely visible mic connected to his earpiece. "We're chasing her down an alley."

Tony signaled for Jarvis while the others ran after her.

* * *

Jo ran as hard and fast as she could, taking complicated turns at every chance, but these stupid people were catching up. She had told Fury she wanted no part in his little plan but he wouldn't listen. He was insistent upon her joining him, and his team 'protecting' her. Why was he so obsessed with the illusion that she couldn't deal with herself?

She whipped her head back to see only three people following her. Jo let a sudden burst of energy propel her forward as she continued to run. She had almost lost them when suddenly a blur of red and gold zoomed past her. That damn Iron Man landed in front of her. She turned around and found that she was surrounded.

"I don't want to hurt you," Jo growled as she assumed a fighting position.

"We don't want to hurt you either, Ma'am. Just come with us and all will be fine." She glowered at who she now figured to be Captain America. The other two must have been Black Widow and Hawkeye. She was aware of their every movement. Just at that moment, she knew the Captain was having them tracked through a small button-activated device, Black Widow was reaching for a gun between her jeans and lower back, Hawkeye was about to pull out a bow and quiver and arrows from the inside of his jacket, and Iron Man was just waiting for her next move.

Measuring every movement she needed to get out of this situation, Jo crouched in a pouncing position. She leapt over Hawkeye and caught her arm around her neck, flipping him over her shoulder and onto his back. Black Widow and the Captain both ran toward her. She crouched and kicked the Captain's legs out from under him at the last second. Black Widow stopped short and held up her gun. Not even aiming, she shot at the girl. Jo dodged and let the bullet graze Iron Man's shoulder. He barely noticed.

She ran passed a baffled Hawkeye and Captain America, only having Black Widow and Iron Man follow her. The other two followed too, shortly after. Jo pulled a strapped on gun out from under my shirt as she continued running. Without looking back, she aimed the gun and fired, making sure not to fatally injure anyone. She heard a grunt come from Black Widow. Hawkeye no doubt stood back to help her. _Stupid move_.

A blast of fire barely missed Jo's right arm, but she kept running. The girl looked back to see Hawkeye and Iron Man right on her tail. _Hmm, the Captain must have fell back_. She fired her gun again, and by the screaming tear of metal, she knew she had gotten Iron Man.

Jo's lungs burned as she felt her legs start to slow. She glanced back to see that all four had gotten back together, yet they were stopped. _Oh, no_, she thought as she saw Hawkeye aim a tranquilizer arrow at her.

Jo looked for somewhere to turn but the alley went straight on for another two blocks at least. She ran harder than ever but she knew the effort was futile. Jo heard the snap of the bow's string and tried to dodge the arrow. but the arrow got her in the shoulder. It was strong. She immediately felt drowsiness fog her mind. Her legs seemed to collapse out from under her and she fell to the ground. The last thing she saw was a giant aircraft overheard before she blacked out.


	2. Chapter 2

**I own nothing you recognize!**

Jo awoke in a white room on a slightly padded table. When she peeled her eyes open, she was almost blinded by an extremely bright florescent light. Her mind was fogging and couldn't remember what had happened the night before. Suddenly, it all came back to her. Fury. The Avengers. Tranquilizer arrow.

Jo bolted up from her position on the bed and looked around. There were two doors on either side of the room. Looking around, she noticed four cameras in each corner of the ceiling. Her anger bubbled up inside of her. _How dare Fury bring me in against my will! Who does he think he is?_

Jo hopped off the bed and looked down at herself. She was wearing skinny jeans with substantial sized holes in them, combat boots, and a dirty black shirt. No doubt her clothes were ruined because of the night before. Wait, was it the night before? How long had she been out?

She lifted her arm to sweep away her bangs but felt a sudden pang in her arm where the arrow had caught her shoulder blade. Remembering (or not remembering) what had happened made Jo angry again.

Jo looked around the room and walked furiously toward a swirly chair in the corner. She picked it up and threw it across the room at one of the doors. "LET ME OUT!" Jo screeched.

Seeing the red flashing light on the cameras made her even angrier. Jo ran over to the bed, dragged it to the corner, and stood on top of it. Pulling her arm back, she punched the camera cracking the lens. Just to be safe, she also pulled it off the wall letting it dangle by a few wires. Jo preceded to that that with the three others.

The girl turned over the bed she had been on and kicked it towards the wall. Just as she was about to tear the legs off the bed, one of the doors clicked unlocked. Jo stealthily ran behind the door and hid as it opened. Two guards walked in, and took a look around. She snuck up behind the second and pinched a special pressure point on his neck. He fell to the ground silently. Hearing the thump, the other guard turned around. Her foot lashed out and kicked him in the stomach.

Jo slipped through the now open door and sprinted down a long corridor. Rounding a corner, she almost ran into a man with long blonde hair in a red cape. He was also holding a giant hammer. She quirked her eyebrow in disbelief.

"Director Fury said thy young lady is to be in the examination room, so we can get a medical record." He had a deep, Old English-type voice. Jo immediately pin-pointed him as Thor.

"Yeah, well I don't really care about what Director Fury wants at this point," She snapped.

"I apologize, Madam, but I am under orders. It is for your own safety." He made to pick her up, but she side-stepped and ran passed him. He let out a yell. Suddenly, a bolt of lightening hit her in the lower back. Jo yelped and fell to the ground. Thor's large arms swept down, picked her up, and threw her over his shoulder. She wiggled around but his grip was tight.

"You are quite spirited!" Thor let out a loud, hearty laugh. Jo craned her neck at an odd angle and tried to memorize the path he was taking. She squawked as he turned suddenly and dropped her into a hard metal seat. Black, leather straps came down around Jo's wrists and ankles right as he set her down.

She twisted and wiggled but couldn't manage to escape. Jo looked up to see all of the Avengers plus Director Fury and Agent Maria Hill.

"I said I didn't want to help you Fury," Jo sighed, a migraine suddenly pushing itself into her head.

"Jo. Stop fighting. I'm just trying to help you find answers. Don't you wonder why you have memory loss? Why you have these powers? Why you are the way you are?" Fury taunted.

Jo may not remember anything from before her fifteenth birthday, but she'd rather eat cow manure than give in to Fury. The girl glared up at him through her bangs. "I don't want to work for someone who lies to their most important employees." I cast a side long glance at Tony Stark.

He looked shocked that he was being dragged into the conversation. "I already know all the secrets, Kid," He said.

Jo snorted, graciously, "Obviously, you don't." Stark looked to Fury. They started talking, but she tuned them out. As everyone became immersed in the discussion, she slowly inched her tied hand down the leg of the chair to her boot. Jo pulled out a pocket knife and began sawing at the leather strap. She felt the strap go slack and drop to the ground. She continued doing this on all the straps.

Afterward, while still in the chair, Jo looked up to see if anyone had seen. Her eyes stopped on a pair of chocolate brown ones. It was Dr. Bruce Banner, A.K.A. the Hulk. She looked at him pleadingly. At first he seemed undecided, then looked at her. _Go_, he mouthed. He looked back to the group. Jo smiled and took that as her key to leave.

She looked around and finally noticed they were on some sort of giant aircraft. Jo was plotting her best way out, when Stark suddenly shouted, "What? How could you not have told me?"

Someone else, who apparently hadn't heard, asked, "What? What didn't he tell you?"

"She's my daughter," He breathed. They all looked back at the chair where she had been. Jo ran over to the nearest window and looked down. A giant lake was below. She would have to plan this perfectly or she would miss and be flattened like a pancake. Jo broke the window and everyone looked over.

She scanned the faces and stopped on Dr. Banner's. He looked terrified, as if he knew what she was going to do.

Her eyes passed Dr. Banner and looked Stark in the eye. Smiling, Jo said, "Seeya, Daddy!" just before diving out the window, and plummeting toward the lake.


	3. Chapter 3

**Review are appreciated! I own nothing you recognize!**

After she had jumped, Jo momentary heard multiple shouts of protests, but they were drowned out by the roaring of the wind in her ears. The wind was cold and bit against her face. It whipped her hair straight back as she flew through the air, almost completely horizontal.

Jo was worrying that she might have over-shot it when something huge touched her arm. She twisted around and saw the Hulk trying to grab at her.

"What are you doing?" Jo screamed over the wind, trying to get away.

"Hulk help..." He grunted. For a moment she was shocked that he understood her. But the moment was short, for she looked down and saw the water hurtling toward them.

"I don't need help!" She straightened herself out, ready to hit the lake. Yet, before she could protest, he enveloped her in his huge arms and twisted onto his back so as to protect her from the harsh slap of water.

The lake was freezing. Jo didn't know what she was expecting for October, but she definitely didn't expect it to be this cold. Her fingers instantly went numb. She stupidly tried to suck in a breath of air but instead got a lung-full of water. Her chest spasmed as she desperately searched for the top of the water.

Seeing a round, orb of distorted light, she swam toward it. Jo's head broke the surface and she gasped frantically for air. Once she had a sufficient amount in her lungs, Jo looked around for the Hulk. Seeing no one, an awful thought struck her. _Oh, no._ She ducked under the water again to see Dr. Banner, as himself, floating lower and lower every second.

Jo resurfaced, gulped down some air, and went back under. She swam as hard as she could toward the Doctor. As she got deeper, Jo started to feel the pressure of the water on top of her. She reached out for the man and wrapped her hand around his wrist.

It was a struggle, but the girl with barely any muscle finally managed to bring them both to the surface. Her muscles screamed as she dragged him to the shore. She put her ear down to his face to try and hear if he was breathing. Not hearing anything, she sat up, put her hands on his chest, and pushed down with full force.

Jo did this a few more times before Dr. Banner's eyes snapped open. They were a glowing green color. He looked at her and they faded back to their normal chocolate brown. A second later, he sat up in a coughing fit. She leaned back and watched as he sat up coughing, letting it all out of his system.

After a minute or so of this, Dr. Banner looked over at her. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine," Jo snapped. She stood up and looked around. There was a large expanse of trees all around the lake. The trees were an assortment of kinds and so dense she couldn't see more than a few trees in. Jo began walking toward it.

"Wait! What just happened? You jumped of the helicarrier from at least 500 meters in the air! And you act like it's nothing!"

She spun around so fast he almost ran into her. "Why did you come after me? I would have been fine." She turned back around and entered the wall of trees. He stumbled after, swatting branches away from him.

"You would have died on impact! Do you call that fine?" He shouted. Jo glanced back and saw that his eyes were green again. Stopping, she turned back to him. "Please, come back and just talk to Director Fury."

"I've talked to Director Fury. I want nothing to do with him."

Banner Sighed, "Then come back and talk to Tony. You didn't see his face after you jumped."

"If he's so upset, why didn't he come after me?" She glared.

"His suit's dead. Please, just listen to what we have to say."

Jo bit her lip and sighed. "Fine, but if I don't like what you have to say, I'm leaving." Banner nodded. "And if you try to stop me again, there will be hell to pay."

"I totally believe you. Now just let me signal the helicarrier." He brought a little device out of his jean pockets and clicked a button. As he was doing this, she sized him up. He had dark brown hair that was wavy and looked as if he was constantly running his fingers through it. He was nicely built and a couple inches taller than Jo. He didn't have a shirt on and his pants were ripped in multiple places. He looked up at her and caught her staring at him. He said, "You can call me Bruce by the way."

She averted her gaze and felt her face heat up. "I'm Jo."

He nodded, "Yeah, I know. We have to go." The ground rumbled and the trees shook as Bruce grabbed Jo's hand and led her out of the woods. She looked up and saw the giant aircraft _The helicarrier?_ floating above the lake. A long rope ladder dangled from an open door.

"How are we supposed to get up there..." She trailed off as Bruce let go of her hand and effortlessly changed to the Hulk.

The Hulk held out a giant, green hand. "Hulk help." Jo's eyes widened. She hesitantly took it and he pulled her into his chest. She felt her face heat up yet again as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He crouched and jumped into the air. Jo bit back a scream as the wind whipped around them. She squeezed her eyes shut as the Hulk grabbed the ladder and they lurched to a stop, swinging in mid-air.

As he climbed higher and they neared the open door, he lifted her up and Thor helped her in the rest of the way. Everyone was waiting there at the door. The Hulk's head appeared, followed by the rest of his body. His skin slowly faded from green to his natural tanned color.

His hand held his now almost totally ripped jeans. Bruce excused himself and ran to another room to change.

Jo was about to yell a thanks to him, but before she could Stark wrapped his arms around her. She stood stock still. Her eyes darted around silently pleading for help. Everyone slowly backed away from the awkward encounter.

"Okay..." She muttered, "That's enough of that..." Jo lightly pried his arms away. He looked hurt as he backed away. "I don't know you. That sounds harsh, but it's true. You just found out I was your daughter. Let's take this a step at a time." The hurt look stayed on his face, but he nodded.

Jo looked toward Fury, "Would you like to tell me what you want?"

"Well, here at S.H.I.E.L.D., we were hoping that you-"

"Hold on," Jo said, "Just clearing something up for future references, should I look in your eye or eye patch?" Seeing his stern expression, she continued. "You know what, nevermind. I'll just look... yeah." She trailed off. Tony couldn't help but smile at the fact that she had basically asked the same thing as him.

"We were hoping that you would help us with a special assignment." Fury said.

Jo raised her eyebrows. "I'm gonna need a little more info than that."

"I'm sorry, but you have to agree to do it first."

She narrowed her eyes. "So you're telling me that you dragged me here against my will to ask me to do something and then not tell me what it is that I would have to do? Am I right?" The director nodded. "I am not okay with that." Her eyes drifted to Bruce who had now entered the room. "I was under the impression that we were going to talk."

"Just tell her," Bruce mumbled.

"He's right," Agent Romanoff said, "If she's anything like her father, she won't be useful without the information she wants. She'd probably cause even more trouble."

Fury looked at the agents surrounding him and his eyes rested on Jo. "Last year, a man, Loki, from another realm tried to attack Earth. He-"

"I'm aware of the story, Director Fury. I was living under a building not a rock."

"Anyway, after he was taken away, some other problems started to arise. A man by the name of Arnold Woodrath began making some kind of machine using a similar kind of energy as Loki. We believe that this machine has the ability to take over people's mind and collect all the data from them." Fury said.

"So, anything else you can tell me?" Jo asked, pursing her lips.

"Not unless you agree to help us."

She seemed to think it over in her head for a minute. "Fine," She paused, "But I want a cool nickname too."

**Am I going too fast? Too slow? Need more detail? Review please.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Just some things I'm addressing:**

**1st person- I tried rewriting chapter four to 1st person... turns out I'm not good at writing in it. :/**

**Mary-Sue- I really didn't mean for Jo to become a Mary-Sue! I'm trying to gradually change her without completely changing the character!**

**Pace- I'm trying to slow down and add more details.**

**And as for some private time with Bruce. Just wait… ;)**

**Thank you to everyone for the suggestions! I really appreciate it and am trying to take them all into account!**

Thor had taken Jo back to the city so she could go back to her 'home' and get some things she needed. Meanwhile, Nick Fury and the rest of the Avengers sat around a circular table.

"What exactly can this girl do?" Natasha Romanov asked, while rubbing her bandaged shoulder. This little girl had managed to turn the whole assignment upside-down. She had shot both Natasha and Tony, though it barely concerned him considering it just went through his suit.

Just as Fury was about to answer, Tony cut in, "More importantly, how long have you known about her? And why didn't you tell me?"

Fury sighed, "We've known about her for about eight years. I didn't tell you because we knew you would immediately go get her and that would ruin our plans."

Tony looked exasperated. "Your plans? You wouldn't let me meet my own daughter because it would ruin your plans?" He shouted.

"You don't understand. She is a genius. She graduated high school and college at a very young age, though we did get a hold of some of her records. Most of her teachers said she was 'socially inept' and 'extremely aggressive toward her peers'. Even with these, uh, quirks in her mental abilities, she was a target for many organizations. We'd been trying to hide her, but someone else got to her when she was eleven. They experimented on her trying to remake the super soldier serum." Steve Rogers looked down at his hand, guiltily. He kept hearing about people trying to recreate the serum, and then bad things happening. "They figured, since she was so intelligent, the serum would boost that up to almost unchallengeable levels. And since she was so young, they could give her the serum and then train her to be even better than any other super soldier.

"But the serum affected her differently. Her size and muscle mass hardly changed. Her intelligence was higher but barely. She became very temperamental and caused multiple problems. This angered the organization's leader to no end. He immediately ordered her to be killed, but when he sent the executioner to do it. She took him down in seconds. She did the same with ten more, then fifteen. The leader decided she was worth saving, so he kept her in a special institute in the backcountry of Asia.

"Here he trained her as hard as possible to the point of almost killing her. After this, she simply dropped off the grid. Completely disappeared. Until she was fifteen. One of our agents in New York found her hiding in an abandoned theater. We collected her without much trouble and questioned her. She couldn't remember anything about what happened to her. Or about who she was. The only things she knew was her name, her abilities, and who you were, Tony." Tony looked at Fury with wide eyes.

"So this organization swiped her memory," Bruce said.

"Yes, but only of the institute and her life, not what she learned."

"She's a genius, super soldier with anger management issues," Hawkeye grumbled, "That's the worst kind."

* * *

Thor gently set Jo down on the ground and slowed his spinning hammer to a stop. They were in front of an old collapsed hotel.

"You live here?" Tho's voice leaked with distaste.

Jo smiled lightly, "Yeah. Come on, I'll show you." She walked to the side of the building and pushed a big dumpster aside. On the ground was a circular, steel hatch. Jo grabbed onto the dumpster for support and stomped on the hatch. It fell in and hung by some rusty hinges. She gestured for Thor to go first.

After a moment's hesitation, he walked to the opening and jumped down. Jo followed, but took the ladder. She grabbed a handle on the bottom of the dumpster and pulled over the opening. Not bothering to close the hatch, she jumped down onto hard cement.

The two walked down a short hallway. At the end was a green, wood door. Jo put her shoulder against it and pushed it open. Thor's eyes widened.

It was one giant room. One side was covered in computers that buzzed and clicked, gathering information Jo needed or wanted. There was a king-sized bed in one corner with a desk next to it. In the other corner was a stove, small fridge, and sink. It wasn't too fancy. The walls had holes and the wallpaper was peeling. The ceiling looked like it leaked, and had a broken chandelier hanging from the middle of it. There was a partially opened door next to the bed. Thor could see a bathroom.

Thor looked around. "These human gadgets need to be powered by electricity. How did you acquire it down under such a building as this?"

Jo averted her eyes. "I hacked into the city's electrical outlets."

Thor let out a hearty laugh. "You a quite like your father! I shall tell him of this!" Jo looked at him oddly.

"Um, I just have to grab some things, then we can go." She went to her computer and typed in some passcodes and started downloading all her data. While downloading, she pulled a duffel bag out of her under her bed and began shoving clothes from her dresser into it.

Her computers beeped, sending three discs out of three different slots. She grabbed them by the sides and slipped them into thin, paper cartridges. "Okay, we can go now," Jo said as she put the disks in her bag.

* * *

Jo set her bag down on the carpet of her new room on the helicarrier. It was odd, living somewhere without holes in the walls and not-stolen electricity. She looked around. The walls were white and plain. There was a twin-sized bed in the corner with a grey blanket. Her nose crinkled at the shamefully outdated computer on a small metal desk.

She walked over to it and tapped the power button. It whirred to life. A small, spinning circle with multiple colors popped onto the screen as it loaded. "Damn," Jo grumbled, "The spinning rainbow of death."

She jerked around as a voice sounded behind her. "You know," Tony said, "you can use the computers in the lab if you want." He fidgeted with his hands. "I mean, they're a lot faster and more up to date..."

"Do they have security protection on them? 'Cause I don't want Fury going through all of my materials."

He smiled having begun a conversation with her. "Yeah, come on. I'll show you." She followed him out into the hallway as they continued to talk about the latest software and security systems.

"Personally, I like to use my own systems," Tony said, slightly bragging.

"I like to use yours too," She said as they arrived at the lab. Bruce sat at a desk with a big, high-tech computer.

His eyebrows pulled together as he opened the door for her. "But it's not public software."

Jo smirked back at him. "It doesn't have to be."

"What happened?" Bruce asked, as Tony spluttered.

They both ignored him. "How could you possibly hack into MY computers? They are the most well protected computers on Earth! Or at least close to it!"

Jo gestured to a computer near the corner. "Can I use this?" Tony nodded. "It really wasn't that hard," She said as she took three CDs out of the inside of her jacket and inserting one in the computer. "At first, I used a government database, but that just wasn't working for me. So, I figured, why not use one of the most tech-savvy man's server? And since you're my dad, it's not really illegal..." As she said this, she continued to type on her computer and switched one CD out for another.

Bruce chuckled as Tony continued to look stunned. "You seriously hacked into my computer?"

Jo sighed, "Would you like me to prove it?"

Both men nodded. She rolled her eyes and loaded the last disc onto the computer. She typed and clicked away at lightning speed. Tony gasped as Jo began talking, "Hey, Jarvis, say hi to your master."

"Oh, hello Master Stark..." Jarvis said hesitantly in his English accent.

"You knew about this?" Tony exclaimed.

Jo snickered, like a naughty child. "In my defense, Sir, she did wipe my hard drive of herself after each use."

"I did. That's true." Bruce and her laughed as Tony went to his computer mumbling about a security breach.

Jo spun around to look at Bruce. "What am I supposed to be doing?"

Bruce looked up into her eyes and felt a blush creep up his cheeks. Thought they were plain, almond-shaped eyes, they captivated him. "Um, you're supposed to be, uh, helping us to locate Arnold Woodrath and figure out what he's planning."

She nodded and turned back to her computer. Bruce ran a hand through his hair and glanced at Tony. They caught each other's gaze. Tony looked thoroughly confused, but whether it was about what just happened or how to feel about it, Bruce didn't know. He quickly turned around to continue his work.


	5. Chapter 5

Jo swiveled lazily in her chair. Everyone was gathered in a big room where agents sat at their own computers. She smiled as she saw someone totally fail at Galaga. "Miss Bradley!"

"Hmm," Jo spinned around to look at Fury.

"Listen!" He snapped. She saluted. Fury had brought everyone together shortly after Jo started working in the lab. "Jo, you will be training with Agent Barton and Romanov."

"Why? I'm already trained." Jo's eyelids felt heavy. It was almost midnight and she was starting to feel very out of it.

"You don't remember your training though."

"But I remember what I learned..." She trailed off.

Fury gritted his teeth. "You need proper training. Meet in the combat room at ten tomorrow morning. Now, get acquainted. This is your new team." And with that, he left the room. His leather trench coat billowing behind him. Her eyes wandered the faces around her.

Captain America leaned over the table and shook her hand, "Nice to meet you, Ma'am. I'm Steve Rogers. Or Captain America. Whichever you prefer." Jo smiled lightly.

Agent Barton nodded at her from across the table, "Clint Barton."

"Right, you're the one who shot me in the back with an arrow," She teased, a smirk tugging at her lips.

Clint chuckled, "Simply following orders."

"Natasha Romanoff." She stuck out her hand. Jo stood up and shook it. Natasha leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Be cautious of Fury... and Stark." She leaned back and Jo nodded. Natasha and Clint wandered toward the hall leading to their rooms.

Thor walked up and put his arms around her, lifting her off her chair. "It's been quite the pleasure meeting you, Young Jo!" Jo grunted as he set her on her feet and left the room with Steve.

Bruce and Tony exchanged a few awkward glances before Bruce stood up. "Um, I'm going to go work in the lab." He quickly speed walked to his little haven.

Tony shifted uncomfortably under Jo's gaze. He got out of his chair and walked toward her. "I-Uh- It was nice getting to know you." Jo suppressed a giggle as he seemed to try to decide whether or not it was a good idea to hug her. Instead, he just reached up and ruffled her hair.

She wrinkled her nose. As he began walking away, she said, "Tony." He turned around and was surprised when she hugged him around his shoulders. Tony almost immediately hugged back.

He held his daughter close to him, never wanting to let go. "I'm so sorry," Tony whispered.

"It's not your fault," She mumbled into his neck.

When she let go, Jo reached up and ruffled his hair teasingly, "Night." She walked away, down the hallway to her room.

"Man, this is gonna be hard." Tony mumbled to himself.

* * *

Pepper's image quivered on Tony's laptop. After his awkward encounter with his daughter, he had come to his room and pulled up a video chat with his lovely girlfriend.

"I can't believe you have a daughter. Actually I can, you used to be quite the man whore," She smiled.

"Ha. Ha," He said humorlessly, "And what makes it worse is that Fury told me her mom disappeared about a year before Jo did. So I can't go talk to her about this. I just- I don't understand why I was never told about this!"

"Tony, you're a rich and famous inventor. She probably thought you wouldn't want anything to do with her or her daughter."

"OUR daughter. I had a right to know," He exclaimed.

"Okay, you said Fury kept Jo from you. Maybe she was going to tell you, but he intercepted her first and forced her not to." Tony mulled this option over in his head. He liked it much better than the former. In the middle of his line of thought, Pepper piped up, "I want to meet her."

Tony sighed. "I think I should get to know her before she meets my girlfriend."

"Well, as soon as that happens, tell me. I want to see how different, or the same, you two are. She sounds like a riot so far." Pepper smiled. Tony couldn't help but smile too. So far, he liked this girl who was his daughter.

* * *

Jo sat up in her bed. She had been tired but couldn't seem to fall asleep. She threw her legs over the side and got up. The alarm clock on her desk said it was 1:32. She sighed.

Jo opened her door and walked toward the lab. She figured she'd check some of her computer programs she had running. But when she opened the door, she was surprised to find Bruce sitting at his desk. He looked up as Jo cleared her throat. "Hey," She said, "I wasn't expecting anyone to be up." She quietly shut the door behind her.

"Yeah, Fury wants me to try to locate Woodrath's machine. He thinks it might use gamma radiation. What are you doing up?" Jo crossed her arms over her chest. She hadn't thought anyone was up so she hadn't even bothered to put on a bra.

"Couldn't sleep." She walked over to the computer she had been working on, Bruce's eyes following her the whole way.

"What are you working on?" He asked.

"I'm just trying to find someone." Bruce watched her facial expressions very carefully. Her eyebrows were pulled together and her tongue poked out out of her mouth slightly. He couldn't help but smile.

But he became serious again as he stated, "The people who experimented on you."

Jo's head snapped up. "How did you know about that?"

"Director Fury told us," He said, hoping he hadn't crossed some personal boundary.

"Of course he did," She muttered, "And yes, that is who I'm looking for."

The room was silent for a couple of minutes, but Bruce found that his eyes kept wandering over to the girl in the corner. He was having an increasingly hard time figuring her out. "Why are you so at ease around me?" He blurted out.

"What?" She looked up, confused.

"I'm a ticking time bomb, and you seem to hardly care," He said, a blush creeping up his cheeks as she stared at him. "The 'Other Guy' could come out at any time, yet you just sit there with no problem. Everyone else tiptoes around me like they're walking on eggshells. Well, everyone but Tony."

Jo spun around in her chair and put her feet on her desk, pushing away so that she rolled in front of Bruce. He felt the other guy awake at her close proximity. "You seem to have the 'Other Guy' pretty much under control. And even if you didn't, I wouldn't be scared."

He leaned in, intrigued to hear her reasoning and momentarily trying to silence the beast inside. "Why not?"

Jo's breath caught as he did this. Her breathing got more haggard as she said, "Because I trust that you wouldn't hurt me." She leaned closer as if challenging him. His eyes widened and she quirked an eyebrow.

Suddenly, Thor burst through the door. "Good friends, why are you- Oh." They jumped apart and Jo stood up.

"Uh, hey," She stuttered, as Bruce turned back to his desk and anxiously shuffled through his paper. "I was just- um, leaving." She finished lamely as she hurried out the door back to her room.

Thor noticed at Bruce's flushed cheeks and heavy breathing. "I'll just leave you here to calm down," He said cautiously, backing out of the room.

Bruce took in a big gulp of air and glanced back at the door. _That was too close, _he thought.

* * *

Jo sat leaned up against her door. She breathed heavily. _What the hell just happened?_ She stood up and started pacing.

This was dangerous. Not because he was the Hulk but because she was a trained killer and super genius. She was wanted by multiple different country governments and they wouldn't hesitate in hurting people close to her.

Not to mention he hardly knew anything about her. Hell, she hardly knew anything about herself. Jo remember the past three years of her life. That's it. She'd been keeping a low profile since she got her memory erased, but Jo had a feeling she had done things. Things most people would not consider to be good.

Occasionally, she would remember snippets of her life before. Jo had recorded every time she had these momentary blackouts where she would remember things and it seemed to her that they were getting closer together. So far, what she remembered had hardly make her feel better about her past actions.

Fury no doubt knew about these flashbacks. He seemed to know everything about her. Everything she tried so hard to hide, he brought back out to the light. Including herself. He had brought Jo here to work with his heroes as if she was one herself. She wasn't. She knew that.

Jo looked into the mirror that hung on the door. There was nothing special about her, looks-wise. She didn't look like a threat. The girl was a normal size, not much muscle. As for how men saw her, she was nothing great to look at. Jo wasn't exceptionally pretty. She was pale and freckled. Her breasts were small and she didn't have the best body. She turned around and looked over her shoulder. Her skin was covered in uneven scars, most of which she didn't know how she got.

Jo sighed. She collapsed into bed, not bothering to pull the covers over herself. _What kind of mess have I gotten myself into? _And with that, she fell into the groggy blackness of sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**So, I was planning on updating yesterday... but I got busy watching all the movies leading up to the Avengers (very important!). Hope you like it! And review please!**

"Okay. I'm going to attack you while Clint shoots arrows at you. You just defend yourself as best as you can," Natasha said as she and Jo took up a fighting stance in the combat room. Tony, Fury, Thor, Steve and Bruce sat on the sidelines, though Bruce was trying his best not the stare at the brunette girl. And Thor was trying his best to laugh at his failed attempts.

"Right," Jo nodded, "But are we seriously fighting, like, with real injuries?"

Natasha nodded. They began circling each other and Natasha threw out a right hook. Jo easily blocked. Natasha jabbed and Jo blocked again. Jo heard the almost silent vibration of the bow's string. A second later, it snapped. Jo knocked the arrow out of the way at the last moment.

Just as she did this, Natasha kicked her feet out from under her. Jo fell to her back and rolled onto her stomach as another arrow was launched at her shoulder. Jo shot out her hand and pulled Natasha's ankle out from under her. As Jo was about to hop up, Natasha rolled over and pinned Jo down. Jo grabbed Natasha's shoulder and flipped them over to reverse rolls.

Jo jumped up, but suddenly stood stock still. Her eyes glazed over.

Natasha followed suit. "Wait!" Fury called out. He walked over and looked Jo in the eyes. "Jo. Can you hear me?"

* * *

_Jo was nine. Her dark hair fell down to her lower back and her eyes were wide with fear. Sweat was forming on her forehead and her bottom lip quivered. The young girl sat in a closet, huddled into a ball._

_The men had come again. But this time, her mom wasn't there to protect her. It was probably better this way. Last time they had come, her mom had gotten a horrible injury. _

_These awful men wanted her. Her mom had told her that. She had said they were awful people who wanted to do awful things to an innocent little girl. But Jo knew what they really wanted. They wanted a her and her intelligence. Jo cursed her smarts for putting her mom in this kind of danger when all she'd ever done is protect and love Jo._

_Jo's scared expression relaxed into a frown as the yelling and thumping outside the closet stopped. She put her ear to the door but pulled away quickly, gasping. She screamed as the door was yanked open and light streamed in._

_One of the men grabbed her elbow and jerked her out of the closet. She landed with a thump on the shag carpet of her mom's bedroom. Jo kicked and thrashed at them as hard as she could but they just chuckled and grabbed her under the arms._

_They pulled her up and made her stand. She turned her head and bit one of their hands on her shoulder._

_He pulled back, turned her around to face him, and slapped her across the face. Jo's eye filled with tears from the sting of the impact. "You listen here, you little bitch, do what we say and we won't kill you!"_

_Her eyes were full of hatred as she tilted her chin back and spit in his face. His face twisted into an expression of disgust as he pulled his hand back and slapped her again, this time so hard that her head whipped to the side._

_Jo jumped as a gunshot fired beside her and the man dropped to the floor. "Don't touch my daughter you asshole." A with ghastly pale skin, rosy cheeks, and big dark eyes said. Jo smiled at her mother. She tried to run toward her but the other man kept his grip on her arm. _

_Jo heard the distant sound of police sirens. Apparently so did the man. He let go of Jo and aim his gun at her mother. Her mom dove behind her bed as the man fired. As she jumped over toward her daughter, Jo heard her yell out in pain. She tumbled to ground beside the young girl. _

_Jo saw the man aim again, but threw herself in front of her mom just in time. She screamed in agony as the bullet ripped through her shoulder._

* * *

The group watched in horror as blood stained the front of Jo's white shirt and a dark bruise formed on her face. Her eyes slowly became more clear as she looked around the room. After a moment, she yelped and collapsed to the floor clutching her shoulder.

Tony and Bruce immediately ran forward. Tony knelt down next to the girl, his hands hovering over her shoulder uncertainly. Fury knelt down to and ripped the sleeve of her shirt revealing the wound.

"It's a bullet wound," Natasha stated, looking ever confused. "But there was no gunshot."

Fury ignored her and started barking out order. "Rogers, take her to the lab. Banner, go with him and patch her up. Tony, make sure he has everything he need. Everyone else, get someone to clean this up and make sure she comes to me when she's back on her feet."

He rushed out of the room, leaving everyone very confused. Steve scooped Jo up, careful not to hurt her. Bruce and Tony quickly following.

Tony threw open the to the lab door and ran to the back pulling a medical bed out. Bruce ran around, grabbing things he needed. Steve gently set Jo on the bed and removed himself from the situation so as not to be in the way. Bruce stood next to her and began doing what was needed of him.

* * *

Jo sat up on the medical bed watching Bruce run around the lab. Tony had left to get Director Fury, after asking her multiple times if she was okay. Bruce suddenly stopped and leaned on his desk, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Jo took this as a good time to speak up. "Thank you, for bandaging me up..." She trailed off, patting her arm gently. It now had multiple layers of gauze around it and was cradled by a sling.

He looked up, suddenly angry, "What was that?" Jo averted her eyes and shrugged her shoulders. Then winced as pain shot through the left side of her body. "Oh no! You can't just play it off like that!" He looked at her with pleading eyes.

Jo looked down at her hands, "I don't know. It's like having flashbacks that affect me both mentally and physically. It's been happening for a while, and each time is closer to the last."

"You mean this happens periodically?" Bruce walked so that he was directly in front of her. She lifted her eyes and nodded.

Bruce could feel the 'Other Guy' knocking around inside of him. He was anxious whenever anything happened with this girl, and today's events had riled him up more than he had been in a long time.

"Do you mind me asking what you were remembering?" Bruce asked timidly. Jo wasn't sure it was a good idea to tell this man she barely knew something so personal, but she did. It seemed to slip out.

When Jo finished, she searched Bruce's face for what he was thinking. He looked absolutely appalled. But slowly, his expression changed from shock to anger. "How could people do that to an innocent girl?" He exclaimed.

Bruce made to continue to rant, but grabbed his head before he could. He buckled over and staggered into a nearby table.

"Oh, no," Jo breathed. She hopped off the table and hurried over to the man before her. Bruce's muscles grew beneath his shirt, but he turned away from her. Jo grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him around, her arm screaming in protest. "Bruce! It's okay! I'm fine!"

His was now tinged with green. Jo could tell he was fighting the Hulk as hard as he could as he tried to turn away again. She grabbed his growing hands with her small one and made him look her in the eye. "I. Am. Okay," She said, word-by-word.

Bruce looked into her dark, serious eyes and slowly began to take deep breathes. His skin faded back to its original tanned color and his muscles began to shrink. He scanned her face for any sign of pain or terror from what had just occurred. But instead he found concern, concern not for herself but for him.

Jo's stare traveled from his searching eyes down to his slightly puckered lips. She was fully aware that she still held his hands in hers, yet she couldn't bring herself to let go.

Bruce couldn't stop himself. As if on impulse, he leaned down and smashed his lips to hers. At almost the same time, Jo leaned up and kissed him with equal vigor. She snaked her hands behind his neck, pulling herself closer to him. He put one hand on Jo's lower back, with the other tangled in her short, brown hair. Bruce hesitantly trailed his tongue along her bottom lip. Jo gladly granted him entry.

As they fought for dominance, they failed to notice the door open. "Jo, Fury wants to see- Aw! What's going on?" At the sound of Tony's voice, the two jumped apart.

"I was just looking for... a pen!" Bruce exclaimed, "Gonna go find one- somewhere else." He darted from the room.

"You said Fury wanted to see me?" Jo took Tony's horrified expression as a yes and quickly ran out the door.

"What just happened?" Tony practically yelled as he saw Jo and Bruce scramble away from each other through the glass walls of the lab.


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry I haven't updated in a couple of days. I had a family emergency. I'm not at home so it may take me a couple of days between each chapter to get new ones out. So, sorry about that. But what can you do. Especially with family. :/**

Agent Hill opened the door to Director Fury's office. Jo slid in and Maria left shutting the door behind her.

Jo's face was still flushed and her lips were slightly swollen. "You wanted to see me, Fury?"

"_Director _Fury." He was leaning against a very old, very expensive-looking desk with his legs crossed. Fury had a scowl etched permanently into his face. "When was the last flashback?"

"Obviously, earlier today." Jo hid a smirk as Fury's nostrils flared even more than they already were. Deciding to play nice, she said, "Two days ago. Twelve thirty-two PM."

"And how many times have they physically affected you?"

"Depends on the memory. If something happens to me physically in it, then the same thing happens in reality," Jo sighed, "But usually, it's just bruises or cuts."

Fury's eye stayed on her as she walked around the room playing with his little trinkets. "Have you remembered what happened to your mother? Or the people who experimented on you?"

Jo stopped in her tracks. Her back was facing Fury and at that moment she was glad for it, for her lips pursed and her nostrils flared. "No."

"Do you want to?"

Jo's lip twitched in disbelief. "Of course I do."

"An old colleague of mine helped me with something that could very much help us in this situation. He was a mutant and-"

"Wait, mutants are real?"

Fury nodded. "Very much so. Anyway, he had the very special ability to read minds. He helped to create a technology that when hooked up to your brain it collects images and transfers them to a monitor for others to see."

"One, why would you need to see what happens in my mind? And two, how would that help me to remember?" Jo numbered her questions off on her fingers.

"Some of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top scientists predict that waves of energy could trigger the memories. As for why we want to see what's in your mind, we want to know who experimented on you just as much as you do. Of course, you don't have to decide whether you want to do it right now."

The girl bit her lip uncertainly. "I'll think about it. Can I go?"

* * *

Peeking in the lab door, Jo saw Tony sitting at his computer jiggling his leg. She debated silently whether it was safe to walk in. After a moment, she decided she'd rather deal with him now than later.

Jo walked in nonchalantly, pretending to not notice Tony jumping up and walking over to her.

He quickly stood in front of her computer. "Hey, um, would you like to explain what happened earlier?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," She said, trying to take a seat.

He easily blocked her path. "I'm talking about you playing tonsil tennis with _Dr. Banner._"

"Oh, so we're all back to last name basis now?" Jo quipped.

"What were you doing?" Tony exclaimed.

"I believe _Dr. Banner _told you he was looking for a pen..." Jo tried to hide the smile that crept to her lips at Bruce's awful lie.

"In your mouth?" He yelled. At that exact moment , Bruce and Clint walked in.

"What was in her mouth?" Clint asked suddenly. Jo looked toward the two, a blush creeping up her cheeks.

"Bruce's tongue," Tony practically growled. Bruce looked up from the paperwork in his hands and noticed the father and daughter for the first time.

Clint smirked. "Really?" He said as he patted Bruce on the back. But he quickly removed his hand when he saw Tony's glower. "I'm actually here to tell Jo that Director Fury really wants her to start looking for Woodrath."

"Perfect," Jo said, shoving Tony out of the way of her chair and setting to work.

As Jo worked, Tony and Bruce began to get into a heat... discussion.

"You stuck your tongue down my daughter's throat!"

"I'd hardly say that's what happened."

"What are you talking about? I saw it!"

"Well, maybe you need to get your eyes checked!" Jo's eyes widened at the retort but she continued her work.

"You listen here, _buddy_! I-"

"What's going on in here?" Natasha yelled. She had quietly slipped in without anyone noticing.

"Don't touch her again!"

Jo spun around and stood up. "That's hardly your decision! We are adults! We can make our own choices!"

"You are eighteen! I'd hardly say you're an adult! You shouldn't-" Jo cut him off.

"Enough! This is not your choice!" Suddenly, Jo's computer pinged. She leaned down and started clicking buttons.

"What is it?" Tony said leaning down next to her.

"Woodrath just got an encrypted email. Hold on. This will take me a little while." She sat down and started decoding the message.

Bruce stood behind Jo to see what she was doing. "Wait, if he didn't want this e-mail to be read, why was it so easy for you to access?" He asked.

"Somebody made a mistake," Tony answered for her.

Bruce leaned back and looked around the room. He tapped Tony on the back and motioned to follow him out of the lab. "Listen, Tony, about what happened, I'm really sorry. I definitely did not mean for that to happen."

"Yeah, I'm not surprised. You're not the kind of guy who would have instigated something like that. Especially with his friend's daughter." Bruce furrowed his brows, not sure how to react to the response. But before he could say anything, Tony turned to look at his daughter. "Man, she's something. Isn't she?" He smiled slightly.

"Definitely."

Clint pushed the door open. "She got the message."

Bruce and Tony ran back in and leaned over Jo's shoulder. Bruce squinted to read the message.

**P.R.-**

**The Annual Ball for Influential Scientists. Perfect place to test the Mentis Apparatus.**

**-A.W.**

"Mentis Apparatus. That's Latin for mind machine," Natasha said.

Jo wrinkled her nose. "For an evil scientist/genius, he's not very clever."

"Who's P.R.?" Tony questioned.

"Hold on. There's an attachment." Jo clicked a small button in the corner of the screen. The loading signal popped up as the computer decoded the second half of the e-mail. After a moment of waiting, a photocopied picture filled the monitor. "It's an invitation to the ball for..." She squinted, "tomorrow night a six in Ranaldi Manor just outside of London.."

Bruce scrutinized the invitation. "I got invited to that..." He mumbled.

Tony looked at him, then the screen. "I didn't. Why didn't I get invited? I'm influential!"

"Probably because the person holding the event hates you," Bruce said.

"Oh." Was all he said.

"Natasha, can you go get Fury?" Jo said, reading the details on the invite. "He'll probably want to see this." She turned to Tony, who was crouched next to her. "You know, you're starting to act more like a dad."

He raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

Jo turned back to her computer. "Yeah, all bossy and annoying." Tony couldn't help but smile at her.

* * *

It took Director Fury only moments to formulate a plan. Jo had just finished explaining to him what she had found. He quickly called everyone in. "Okay, Jo can you manage to make two fake invitation for Agent Barton and Romanoff?" Jo nodded. "Good. Bruce, I know you weren't planning on going, but now it's critical to the mission. You and Jo will go undercover as a couple." Both their faces flamed up with a blush. Tony scowled.

Jo's face reddened even more, casting a side glance at Bruce. He quickly averted his eyes. Clint and Thor smirked. "Why am I going?" She asked.

"If the machine is there, you might be the only one who can shut it down," He explained.

Jo shook her head. "I have no clue how this machine works. How am I supposed to disable it?"

"You have a very large knowledge of technology. Plus, you will have Dr. Banner and your father speaking in your ear." Fury turned to continue with the plan.

But Jo was still dubious. "What if what we know isn't enough and the machine explodes or something?"

"This may be our only chance to destroy this thing. You will have to work with what you got. Now, Barton and Romanoff, it'll be your job to take down Woodrath." Jo zoned out as Fury continued to tell every minute detail of the mission.

* * *

Jo stood up and stretch as she finished the fake invites for Natasha and Clint. Everyone else had already gone to bed so as to get rest for the mission tomorrow. The girl placed the invitations on the table in the middle of the room where she wouldn't forget them.

She shut her computer off and left the lab. Looking out at the rows of monitor outside the lab, she notice the handful of agents that stayed up through the night. It was crazy the amount of work Fury made people do. What does he do really? Besides gathering superheroes to do his dirty work.

Jo made her way to her room. Fury was determined and had (mostly) good intentions, but he seriously needed to work on his people skills. She got into her room and got ready to collapse into bed.

As Jo pulled a tank top on, a knock sounded at her door. She pulled it open and found Bruce standing there fidgeting with his hands.

"Hi," She said, slightly confused.

He ignored the greeting and continued to fidget. "Listen. About what happened earlier-"

"It was a mistake!" Jo breathed a sigh of relief.

"Exactly! Not that I didn't enjoy it!"

"Right! It was fantastic! But-"

"It was irresponsible and-"

"Stupid!"

"And I'm your dad's friend!"

"It's weird!"

"Exactly!" Bruce smiled, glad that this had gone so smoothly.

"So, we got this all figured out."

"Good!"

"Perfect!"

And with that Bruce gave an awkward wave and left. Jo shut the door behind him. She pressed her lips together, not entirely sure she was happy with what had just happened.


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry for the wait. I'm still having some family issues. :/ I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as possible.**

Natasha harshly pulled a comb through Jo's tangled, wet hair. Both women were in fluffy, white robes getting ready for the mission. Natasha already had her hair in curlers and almost dry. Jo groaned as she continued to yank on her brunette locks.

"Maybe if you brushed your hair more than twice a month, this wouldn't be such a problem," Natasha scolded. Jo continued to groan.

There was a knock at the door and Tony stuck his head in. "Is everything okay in here?" Jo answered with another groan and shot him the evil eye. "I'll take that as a yes." He quickly backed out.

"What are you going to do with my hair?" Jo asked. She tilted her head to the side. It was quickly jerked straight again.

Natasha put the comb down. "I'm just gonna pull your hair out of your eyes and let it dry curly." Jo nodded as Natasha clipped back her bangs. The two stood up to get dressed.

Walking into the room they were given to get dressed and do makeup and the such, Jo examined her dress.

"Oh dear," She breathed.

Natasha patted her on the back. "I picked that one out just for Bruce." Jo's cheeks flamed up.

* * *

The men of the Avengers, Nick Fury, and Agent Hill stood in the lab waiting for Natasha and Jo. Bruce and Clint stood in tuxes with their invitations tucked inside their jackets.

"Here comes Natasha," Clint said. He had seen her in the most flattering of clothes, but she still managed to take his breath away. Natasha wore a knee-length, sleek, black dress. It was strapless and showed off her chest to her advantage. It was tight around her waist, but loosened around her hips making it swish around her knees. "You look fantastic," He said, handing her the invitation.

"Thank you," She smiled. Natasha looked pointedly at Bruce with a smirk, "Jo will be here in a minute."

Just then, a crash echo outside of the lab. Jo yelled, "Less than a minute!" She was pulling on her two inch Mary-Janes. "Sorry!" Jo burst through the lab door. She leaned down to examine her reflection in the black screen of a computer. Standing up she straightened out her dress. "How do I look?"

She wore a red, silk dress that hung off her curves perfectly. It was cinched right below the waist, on her thigh. The rest flowed down her legs and pooled around her feet. The back was low to show off the light scars on her back. Natasha had given her a special cover-up to make them hardly noticeable and Jo hoped that the ball would be dimly lit to make it nearly impossible.

Bruce's eyes widened and he felt his heart beat pick up. "Amazing," He whispered. Jo smiled shyly and bit her lip.

Tony's eyes flitted between the two, but before he could say anything, Fury cut him off. "Here's the plan," He looked around, "We've landed the Helicarrier above the European S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, which is coincidentally only about thirty-five minutes from the ball. Here, you four," He motioned to Clint, Natasha, Bruce, and Jo. "will take two company limos there. Thor, Stark, and Rogers are going to go separately and watch the perimeter. But make sure you are not seen! S.H.I.E.L.D will be watching the whole time, as with Stark I assume." Tony nodded. "Jo, are your mic and camera working?"

"Yup," She said popping the 'p'. Tony had given her earrings in disguise. The left was the mic and the right was the camera.

"Make sure your hair stays out of the way. Here are earpieces." He handed little circular things to everyone, "This way you can all communicate. Barton don't forget you are under the alias of Clayton Berk. Romanoff you'll continue using Natalie Rushman. Everyone ready?"

They all nodded.

* * *

Jo and Bruce sat in awkward silence in the limo picked out for them. Bruce fiddled with his hands while Jo jiggled her leg anxiously. She randomly pressed buttons seeing what they would do. Jo cringed as she accidently hit the stereo and it boomed through the car. She fumbled with the buttons until Bruce reached over and easily pressed a button labeled 'On/Off'.

_Stop messing with things,_ Fury commanded into her earpiece. She withdrew her hands as she heard Tony snicker.

Jo looked out the window as they neared a giant mansion with loads of limos and fancy cars lined up outside. She gulped, "Um, I think I'll just stay in here. I've gone to great lengths to stay out of the public eye and I'd much rather have things stay that way..."

"I'd have to say I agree with her," Bruce leaned over and looked at the amount of people walking in.

_It's for the good of the world! _Fury said, no one missing the commanding tone he held.

At the same time, Tony said, _Don't be babies._

As they pulled up, Jo fidgeted with the hem of her dress. The limo parked and they both climbed out of the car. In the limo behind them, Clint and Natasha got out. Bruce and Jo waited as the other two walked to the entrance and handed someone their invitations.

_Jo, take Bruce's arm, _Fury commanded. Jo blushed as she gently slipped her hand under his bicep. Together, they walked up to the person in front of the door. Bruce handed him the invitation.

The man took a quick look at it, then looked up, "Dr. Bruce Banner. We were under the impression you weren't coming."

Bruce forced a smile. "There was a change of plans."

"I see, and is this your lovely date?" He raised his eyebrows at Jo and smirked. She shifted uncomfortably, but smiled. Bruce placed his hand over hers and nodded. The man stepped out of the way, "Go right on in."

They walked by and Jo sighed a breath of relief. She looked around and gasped. It was the size of a football field. The floor was newly-waxed hardwood that look very old. There were pillars along the walls that had old-fashioned lanterns hanging from them. An orchestra played slow music at the head of the room on a raised platform. A crystal chandelier hung from the middle of the room. Circular tables with white tablecloths sat around the edge of the room.

A young woman walked over and offered them champagne. Jo took a glass, absentmindedly.

_Put it back, _Tony chided. She sighed but put it back on the silver tray. Bruce chuckled.

"What do we do now?" Jo asked looking at Bruce. He shrugged. They looked around for Clint and Natasha for an example. The two had separated and were socializing with scientists of all kinds.

"Aw! Bruce Banner!" Exclaimed an Italian accented voice behind them. They turned around to see a large, tan man with slicked-back black hair. He reached out, grabbed Bruce's hand, and firmly shook it. Jo adjusted her hair to make sure it wasn't covering the earrings. "It's a great pleasure to finally meet you. Your work in gamma radiation is amazing! My name is Paola Rinaldi."

Jo's eyes widened and she tightened her grip on Bruce's arm. He ignored her and said, "It's nice to meet you too. Your recent projects in neuroscience have been quite impressive!"

Rinaldi laughed heartily, "Why, thank you!" He turned his eyes to Jo. "And who is this lovely woman?"

"Joann Skylar. Pleasure to meet you." She smiled charmingly. He took her hand in his and kissed her knuckles. She couldn't help but want to giggle as Bruce tensed up next to her.

"The pleasure is all mine." He smiled up at her. He stood up and said, "I'm sorry but I have to go greet some other guests. Excuse me."

Bruce turned to her. "Joann Skylar?"

Jo shrugged, "Joann is my full name and Skylar is my middle." She leaned in, "But you heard his name right? Paolo Rinaldi. Do you think he could be P.R.?"

_Stop talking about it! _Fury exclaimed. Jo huffed. Bruce laughed. For about another half hour they continued talking to random people until they were thoroughly bored and hadn't seen a single sign of Woodrath. The two were sitting at the bar watching other people dance. Jo had ignored Fury's orders and Tony's protests and gotten herself a glass of sparkling wine.

Suddenly Bruce stood up and held out his hand. "Would you like to dance?" Jo smiled, taking it eagerly.

But before they reached the floor, Jo stopped. She reached up and pulled the clips out of her hair, letting it fall in front of the mic and camera. Both Tony and Fury yelled in protest as they lost the connection. Jo smiled at Bruce's questioning look. "For more privacy." A smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

He placed one hand on her waist and held her hand in his other while she put her free hand on his shoulder. Both of their heartbeats picked up at the contact. They danced slowly for a few minutes. For a second, they caught eyes. Jo's lips parted slightly as she scanned his face. Slowly and uncertainly, they leaned toward each other until they were barely a centimeter apart. Their eyes slid shut as Jo closed the gap.

This kiss wasn't like the last time. Last time, it was more on instinct and impulse. This time, there was a special spark. A need for each other. It was less fierce and more personal. After a moment, they parted and looked into each others eyes. Bruce sighed and whispered, "What are we doing?"

Jo shook her head, confused just like he was. She didn't get close to people like this. "It's dangerous." She stated.

He nodded vigorously, "What if I hurt you?"

Her head snapped up. That wasn't what she had meant at all. "I already told you I trust you."

Bruce grabbed her hand and pulled her to the wall, away from everybody. "But I don't trust me!" He whispered furiously. "Besides, I could never you give you a normal life."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "How do you know what I want?"

"I could never give you a normal home or kids!"

"Why are we even talking about this? That would be years off! And I don't even know if I want kids."

"But you wil! You have to look ahead in time! Where could this possibly go?" Their volumes had risen to a normal talking level now.

"I've never been the type to look ahead in time! I'd prefer to live in the present!"

Bruce breathed heavily as he said, "It wouldn't go anywhere! I couldn't do that to you." The 'Other Guy' was riled up by this conversation. He didn't seem to like the idea of this girl being upset, like she was now.

"Well, then what do you suppose we do? Just being friends is obviously not working!" She seethed.

He didn't want to say it, but he cared about Jo and didn't want her to get hurt because of him. "Then maybe we shouldn't be friends."

Jo stepped back. Stunned by his words. Instantly, an invisible wall came down, hiding her emotions. "Maybe not." She turned and walked away, toward the front of the room where everyone was gathering. She took the clips and pulled her hair back up.

_What's happened since you disconnected us_, Fury asked, anger threading his voice.

"Nothing..." She trailed off as a man walked in front of the group of scientists. Her eyes widened as she recognized the man to be Arthur Woodrath.


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm soooo sorry! I hate myself, as should you! I'm mentally slapping myself (I'd slap myself in real life, but people are around as I type this and I think I'd get a few weird looks O.o)! My only excuse for not update is that I moved to a new town :) Reviews are greatly appreciated. Even if I don't deserve them after being gone for so long...**_  
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_The machine, _Natasha voice sounded through the earpiece, _It's behind the curtain. _Jo glanced up at Woodrath and noticed a heavy, red curtain behind him for the first time.

"How do I get back there?" She mumbled quietly, making sure no one heard her. Jo looked around and saw Natasha by the opposite wall, reaching for the gun that was strapped to her thigh. Clint was closer to Woodrath. He looked ready to grab his collapsible bow and some arrows to take the enemy down.

_A door. Approximately ten feet behind you. It leads to a hallway that will take you behind the curtain. _Jo nodded toward Natasha.

She calmly walked back toward Bruce and grabbed him by the sleeve. "Come on!" She said harshly. Bruce followed wordlessly. They slipped into the door easily enough, without being noticed. Rigid silence enveloped them as they walked down the dimly lit hall.

"Jo..." Bruce began.

She cut him off. "Don't talk," She said, brusquely. He glanced at her with sad eyes, but didn't say anything.

After a few turns, they had come to another door. Jo gently eased it open and glanced in. Turning slightly, she nodded at Bruce and pushed the door open. Bruce flinched as a large man popped out from behind the corner and advanced toward Jo. But before he even had a chance to change to Hulk, she grabbed the man's head and slammed it against the brick wall.

Bruce was so shocked by the suddenly unconscious man, his heart rate immediately slowed. He looked at Jo with a surprised expression. She just shrugged. The two inched in and looked around awaiting another attack. Not seeing anyone else, they finally took in the room behind the curtain.

Wires covered the floor, spreading out like long, skinny tentacles. The walls were blocked by multiple machines that all had cables connecting to one in the middle of the room. The machine was like a giant gun. It had handles on the back to aim it along with a video screen to pinpoint what was being aimed at. Blue sparks danced around the machine as it's gears clicked and turned. The middle was a big, glass cylinder that held a blue ball of wobbling energy.

Jo reached out to brush her fingers against the glass but jerked back as a huge boom sounded from the other side of the curtain. She glanced at Bruce nervously.

_You two need to get to work now! _Fury yelled. They rushed to the machine as screams of terror began in the background.

Bruce went to the other side and exclaimed, "Here!" Jo circled around and looked over his shoulder. He wedged his fingers into a small panel on the side of the metal thing before them. He fell back as the panel gave way and tripped into Jo. They both stumbled back, but quickly regained their posture.

They rushed back, and Jo bent down in front of the wires and buttons that had suddenly become visible. Her eyes widened in confusion. "What do I do?" She asked, suddenly scared of her lack of knowledge. The buttons were labeled with strange markings and the wires all tangled together.

All at once, the curtain fell away and large explosion was heard. The sound triggered something in Bruce. He grabbed his head and backed away from Jo. His muscles bulged and his skin turned green. Jo had no time to stop it so she let it happen and hoped for Hulk to help take down Woodrath. She looked out at the panicking crowd and saw Clint and Natasha fighting mercilessly with a hoard of Woodrath's soldiers. There was a big hole in the front wall of the ballroom where Thor, Captain, and Iron Man had all broken in.

Iron Man looked around and spotted Jo. He instantly flew over to her to look at the machine. Jo scooted over as he reached down to mess with the thing. But before he could do anything, he was blasted to the side by a bright ray of blue light.

Turning, Jo saw Woodrath advancing toward her. Making a split decision, she wrapped her fingers around a clump of wires. Woodrath yelled out as she gave it one hard yank. She breathed out a sigh of relief as the machine stopped clicking and became silent.

"You stupid girl!" Jo stumbled to her feet as Woodrath grabbed a chunk of her hair and pulled her up. She spun around and punched him as hard as she could in his face. Her face contorted with pain as she felt her knuckles shatter. She looked at him with horror as he simply chuckled. "Just like your meddlesome, naive mother."

Before Jo could react properly, the Hulk smashed into Woodrath. Hulk was soon followed by Iron Man.

"You hurt Jo!" Hulk growled as he pounded Woodrath into the floor. Hulk's punches were immediately followed by Iron Man's plasmic zaps. "Jo is Hulk's friend!"

As Jo cradled her hand, her chest swelled at the fact that not one, but two people were fighting for her. A sudden clicking brought her out of her revere. She looked down at the machine that had begun shuddering violently.

Jo dropped to her knees and ignored the pain in her hand as she fumbled with the wires. She cringed as they fell onto the floor, leaving the situation hopeless. Squinting at the blank spot left by the wires, Jo noticed small writing. **Mentis Apparatus Prototype.**

The glass container holding the ball of energy cracked and shook. Jo threw her hands up to cover her face as the machine exploded and threw her into a wall. She felt the broken, jagged brick dig into the back of her. With blackness swimming through the edge of her vision, Jo fell into a groggy unconsciousness.

* * *

Tony was sitting by Jo's bed in the hospital room on the helicarrier. It had been two day since the incident with Woodrath and Jo still hadn't woken up. Bruce and Thor had agreed that the reason she wasn't waking up was because the energy was the same as the tesseract and her body was defending itself from any harmful energy exposure.

Clenching his fists, Tony thought of what had happened. The machine exploded, sending his daughter flying into a brick wall. Woodrath had immediately fled after his machine was destroyed. When he and his soldiers were gone, Hulk noticed that Jo was not getting up. Hulk had demanded to be the one to help her. Tony didn't like it, but what choice did he have.

The last part is what confused Tony. The Hulk wouldn't let anyone touch Jo until he got her help. He was completely gently and overprotective. But once he changed back to Bruce, he avoided her like the plague. When Fury asked if he could check on her, he simply said he didn't think that was a good idea and locked himself in the lab. Something had happened between them but he wouldn't tell what.

Not that Tony had much time for bothering Bruce. He spent most of his time checking Jo's vital signs and the rest searching for Woodrath. He rarely slept, for at night he either Skype'd with Pepper or worried about his newfound daughter who seemed to cause more trouble the more he got to know her.

After the catastrophe with Woodrath, Tony had stormed into Fury's office and demanded to know everything about this gir. To his surprise, Fury pulled out an old-fashioned manilla envelope filled with her papers without any protest.

Tony wasted no time in reading every paper in the file. He was mostly interested in happened before she lost her memory, but S.H.I.E.L.D. had only school and parental records, organizations wanting her, and home locations from about when she was eight to eleven. He did have a good time reading about her recent records though.

When S.H.I.E.L.D. had first tried to recruit her, she had shot sixteen agents, stabbed two, and set fire to one of their locations whilst overwriting their computers to play porn all day. It took a week before someone could shut it off. Needless to say, not much got done that week.

Tony's heart almost broke when he read one of the last papers.

**Nicholas Fury**

**Director of US S.H.I.E.L.D.**

**September 8, 2012**

**The girl you've been looking after for the past few years came out of hiding yesterday. However, it was not under the most enjoyable terms. We'd like to assume she was simply testing her abilities, but it did not seem as such. We found her on top of a corporate building in London. We sent our most highly trained agents after her, but they were too late. When she jumped we thought for sure she would at least be seriously injured, for she is a small girl and not with any extraordinary talents as to our knowledge. She simply made a crater, crawled out after a moment and dizzily stumbled away with quite the disappointed look on her face. I don't know what you are planning Fury, but you'd better make it fast before this girl does something drastic.**

**Eugena Fairchild**

**Director of UK S.H.I.E.L.D.**

Tony cleared his head as Jo began to stir. Her eyes snapped open and she shot up. She looked around and finally caught eyes with Tony. "What happened? Did we get Woodrath?"

"You got blasted into a wall when you destroyed the machine. We can relax about Woodrath for a while now." He looked at her with wide eyes as she shook her head.

"No. There's another machine. We can't relax just yet," She paused, "I need to talk to Fury."

"About the machine?"

"About my memories."


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello lovelies! Long time, no write. I AM SOOOOORRY! But I haven't gotten many reviews, and that's what KEEPS ME GOING. So please review, you fantastic readers, you!**

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"Are you sure you want to do this?" Tony asked leaning over Jo. He was making sure all of the medical screens she was hooked up to were working. They were in a plain white room only with Jo in a chair and the screens in the middle of it.

Jo nodded. "I have to know what happened to my mom," She said looking up to him with sad eyes. "But are the restraints necessary?" She pulled against the steel shackles connected to the floor that were around her ankles and wrists.

"Yes," Fury said from a window in the front of the room. "We do not know how you will react to the memories. And don't get too hopeful that the memory will be about your mother. It could be about anything." Fury and the rest of the team stood in the small room connected to the one Jo was in.

A object, similar to a helmet, sat on Jo's head connecting to her through all sorts of wires and suction cup type things. There were straps around her arms monitoring her heartbeat. Tony set a hand on her shoulder, "Good luck, kid." He removed his hand and walked out of the room through a thick, bolted door.

She wriggled uncomfortably against the shackles and looked up anxiously at the window. As Tony entered, Fury spoke over the intercom, "Are you ready?" Jo paused before nodding. She felt the machine start up and sensed the energy pulsing through the room. _This is it,_ Jo thought, relaxing her muscles. _No turning back._

Bruce wrung his hands in a horrible state of nervousness. "Are you sure this is safe, Director?" He had never seen anything like this technology. There was a large screen in the room they were in that was supposed to project the images in her thoughts onto it. He was very sceptical and worried about the girl strapped to a chair and hooked up like a lab rat.

"It was made by one of the smartest men I have ever known. I have faith that this will work," Fury said flipping some switches and watching the girl intently. Everyone watched as she tensed up and her expression went blank. They turned to the screen as images began to pop up.

_Jo was ten. Her hair was in a tangled mess and tears streamed down her face. Sobs wracked her body as her mother held her close. _

"_Shhh. Baby, it's okay. Everything will be okay," Her long, elegant fingers smoothed back her hair. The men had come again, but now both of them knew it was over. They sat in the women's bathroom of a closed gas station. The men had come prepared this time, with back up and machine guns._

_The small girl screamed as they banged on the door. "COME OUT!" The two continued to hold on to each other in fear. More sobs forced themselves out of Jo's mouth as the broke down the door. She screeched in protest as one of them yanked her back by the hair and grabbed her mother by the underarms. _

_He held Jo back, struggling slightly as she fought her hardest trying to get back to her mother. She sobbed violently, collapsing against the man and pounding her small fists into his chest. Jo clawed at his face and kicked his knees. He reached behind his back and pulled out a small taser. _

_Seeing it, Jo flopped around and tried to run to her mother. Her legs buckled out from beneath her as he shoved the taser against her thigh and sent thousands of volts of electricity through her skin. She felt her vision blur as she fell to her knees. _

_Jo ignored and looked up at her mother, blinking rapidly. She was horrified to see them brutally torturing her. Blood spurted from her cut wrists and began to puddle beneath her. Jo screamed out. One of them held a taser against her neck and laughed as she spasmed. _

_The savagely ripped off her blouse. She smacked at them and ripped her nails across one of their faces. He jerked back, angrily. He motioned to one of the others and they handed him a vile of bubbling, green liquid._

"_Baby! Close your eyes!" She screeched. But Jo couldn't. She watched in terror as the man poured the liquid over her face. It sizzled and smoked as it distorted her face. Jo's eyes widened as her mom's smooth, pale skin pinched and puckered._

"_MOM!" Jo tried to get up, but the man pushed her back down. "No! PLEASE!" They held a gun up to her head and waited for the liquid to stop sizzling. Jo immediately recognized the gun. It had tiny, exploding bullets. When they entered the body, they explode and shatter whatever it comes in contact with._

_Her mom knew this too. "I love you baby! I love you! Close your eyes, my darling! CLOSE THEM!" But Jo didn't. She watched as the man pulled the trigger. The bullet entered her head and, after a moment, bursted. Blood splattered the walls. The men. Jo. It was everywhere. Jo's sobbing stopped as she looked at the body of her mother fall to the floor with a thump._

_She slowly got up as the man pulled her to her feet. Jo's heart suddenly seemed as if it had stopped beating. A cold, numbness washed over her. Her vision blotted with black spots, and she collapsed into a lump on the floor._

The Avengers stared at the screens with horrified expressions. Bruce looked at the girl in the next room. She looked panicked and pulled against the shackles. The floor cracked as she struggled, shaking uncontrollably. "Let her out!" He shouted at Fury, as the rest turned to look at Jo. Tony ran to the door as Fury pushed a button to release the restraints. Jo fell to the ground in a shaky mess. Falling to his knees, Tony grabbed his daughter by the shoulders as her body convulsed. He reached for the garbage can and brought it over to them. Jo gripped the sides, throwing up the contents of her stomach.

* * *

Tony observed as his daughter typed away mercilessly at her computer. He was worried, and felt he had rightful reason. It had been three days since the little 'incident', yet she worked through the trauma and spent hours upon hours searching for Woodrath. He understood her obsession, of course. He was searching relentlessly too. But this routine wasn't healthy, and Tony wouldn't just sit by and watch his daughter go down this road.

She drank coffee by the gallons and stayed up until the sky first showed signs of day. Even then, Jo would only sleep for a while before waking up again to continue this tedious routine. Tony had the room next to hers and knew that the little time she did take to sleep, was restless. She was quickly regaining fragmented memories, she had told him. They came in bits and pieces in her dreams. The only good thing happening was that Jo was slowly beginning to lose the blank, vacant look in her eyes that had come about the other day.

Aside for the dangerous lack of sleep, something was also going on between Bruce and Jo. They didn't talk, or even look at eachother. Their relationship had gone from heated kisses to unbearable tension. And Tony hated it. Something was going on and he was going to get to the bottom of it.

But just as he was about to open his mouth, Jo shouted, "I found something!" She quickly pulled up a map and scanned over it. Bruce ran out to get Fury and the others as Tony bent over Jo's shoulder.

"Wait... That can't be..." She mumbled.

"What?" Tony asked impatiently.

Jo jumped and looked around anxiously. "It says they're here!"

"Wha-"

**BOOM!**

"Seriously!" Tony cried as dust and debris filled the air, "Can we not get a day off?"


End file.
